11 comments/ 36020 views/ 82 favorites Home Health Care By: Home Health Care "Honey, that man was beside himself. I didn't know he specialized in surgical recovery, but he understood every word your doc said and then he started asking all these questions." Marion shook her head a little and met Daniel's eyes. "I'm afraid I underestimated that young man, Daniel. I've never given him much credit before, thought he was kind of flighty." "Yeah well, that's understandable with what he can do to fry a computer. Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?" Daniel felt a little odd, listening to Marion's confession, offering comfort to his boss, all in the middle of the night in a hospital room. But somehow it felt important to be here with another person, connecting and sharing, being close. Marion sniffed and nodded. "I need to call Dean and let him know that you're awake," Marion said of her husband. "He had wanted to come too, but I told him stay home get some rest." "Thank you Marion, it means a lot to me that you were here when I woke up. The nurses are all wonderful, but it wouldn't have been the same." Daniel gripped her hand and squeezed. "Honey, is there anyone I can call in the morning. From all that the doctors said, it sounds like you'll need some help, and I wondered if your parents might be able. . . ." Marion's words trailed off as Daniel just shook his head from side to side. "No, we don't have that kind of relationship." Daniel said simply, and he left it at that. "We'll just figure something out, then. You work on getting better and getting back to work. No one in this hospital wants Mean-Marion to come to their office to fix their IT problems," and Marion smiled at this. "Go home now please, and get some rest, or I'll start to feel guilty. I'll see you tomorrow." Marion took her leave and Daniel was finally left all alone after a brief nurse visit. He lay on his hospital bed and slipped into that twilight state of not-quite-awake and considered his body from the inside out. Behind his eyes, he travelled through his limbs and mind checking and touching, making sure everything was as he had been told. There was little pain now, what with all the medication, but he was sure that he would be plenty sore when that wore off. While he was damaged, he was whole and would recover with time and patience. Daniel thought how ironic it was that he had just begun to feel recovered from the break up with Brady when his body had to be injured. As he considered the damage to his psyche and to his body, Daniel thought that he might prefer the physical pain for a while, instead of the mental agony he had recently endured. With that, he fell asleep for several hours. When Daniel finally awake later, an orderly was bringing a tray of noxious smelling hospital food into the room-thus making sure to ruin any appetite Daniel might have. Luckily Zach followed quickly on the orderly's heels, carrying a hugely tall white coffee cup and a bakery bag. He deposited these on the moving bedside tray, as soon as he had taken the hospital tray away. "If your doctor asks, I have no idea where that came from," Zach said indicting the bag Daniel was now greedily plunging into. "I wasn't sure if you like cream cheese on your bagel or if you even eat cranberry muffins, but anything has be better than whatever that was." Zach indicated the neglected hospital food. With a look of open appreciation Daniel said, "You are a god among men, Zach. Thank you. Being injured is one thing, but I didn't want to be sick as well." With an audible pop, Daniel had the lid off of his coffee and was inhaling the aroma deeply. "And you know how I like my coffee. I can't thank you enough." Zach rested a hand on Daniel's shoulder returned his gaze. "Just get better -- so I have someone to eat lunch with." Their eyes held for a beat or two more than was merely platonic, but Zach broke the connection. "I need to see a few patients who actually need me for my skills this morning. Will you be all right for a while?" Daniel nodded and Zach promised to return later, when the doctors came in for rounds. The three days in the hospital followed a similar pattern. Marion came back with Dean and they kept him entertained each afternoon over the weekend. They played cards and scrabble and Daniel could honestly say that if it weren't for his damned injuries, he would have been having one of the best weekends in a very long time. Zach worked each day and he would come and visit as long as he could, stopping in often and staying far past his normal work hours. This attention surprised Daniel, but he didn't question it, he was simply grateful to have the company. Daniel longed to be in his own home and wondered how he would ever manage on his own. In a corner of his mind, Daniel wished that he had family he could call, family that would be able to drop everything and take care of him. But that wasn't the reality Daniel lived with. It wasn't as if Daniel hadn't been on his own before. He would be fine, somehow. Would Brady come, if he asked? Daniel was sure that his former lover would, but it wouldn't be fair to either of them. One day maybe, they could be friends, but Daniel didn't yet want be vulnerable and helpless in front of the man that had left him almost two months ago. It had been a hard struggle to recover from that incident, and he had begun to feel strong again; he didn't want to step backward now. Or hobble backwards. The final decision was taken out of Daniel's hands when Marion came to his room late Monday afternoon to announce that she would "spring him from the big house" as soon as the doctor came for his last examination. He had thought he might get released, but wasn't sure when it would happen. Then, with a flurry of people and activity he was in real clothes sitting in a wheelchair and in clambering into Marion's sedan. Dean was behind the wheel, smiling and happy to be included in the excitement. "Daniel, it is so good to see you out of there. I thought we could pick up some take out and then I can have a scrabble rematch. How does that sound?" Getting into the house had been a little more effort than Daniel had thought it would be and he was sorely frustrated at just how incapacitated he was. In the end, he had to let Dean pull him up the stairs backwards while Daniel sat in the wheelchair. This just wouldn't do and Daniel was determined to figure out a way to be more mobile soon. As if answering his thoughts, Marion had some news for him, just before she and Dean left for the night. Marion walked into the living room with her coat on and her cell phone in her hand, a look of concern on her face. "I don't want to leave you alone, but Zach just called to say that he's going to be a few minutes late. He's going to stay with you for a bit to help out." "Go on home, Marion. I'll be fine. Thank you both for everything. Call me tomorrow, and tell me what's happening in the office?" Daniel was relieved to hear the door closing and realized that for the first time since waking up four days ago, he was alone. Blissfully alone and nearly helpless. His current condition chafed his sense of self-reliance, but Daniel was determined to enjoy his solitude. Being alone had never bothered Daniel. Later on, when he realized that he couldn't always relate to boys his own age, being alone was a solace. Just as Daniel felt he might nod off right there on the couch, Zach knocked on the door and bounded into the small house. With a corny, "Lucy, I'm ho-oome," Daniel's house suddenly felt more full of life than it ever had before. Vibrant activity and good feelings seemed to surround Zach like the sun's rays. "And I am just a really lonely moth," thought Daniel to himself. For as long as he had known Zach, Daniel had felt attracted to this six-foot two-inch man with the defined muscles and long blond hair. Also, he was pretty sure that half of the hospital felt the same way, and there was no reason to think that Zach retuned his feelings. In fact, his attraction to Zach had caused him quite a bit of anxiety while Daniel had still been involved with Brady. Daniel had suffered a lot of guilt from being in a relationship with one man while secretly lusting after another. After the break-up, awash in his emotions of loss and sadness, Daniel knew he was in no condition to examine his feelings for Zach. And now that the cute guy was in his house? Daniel mentally shrugged that he was still in no condition to do a thing about it. With a lot of schlepping, Zach had arrived and deposited a small mountain of bits and pieces in the middle of the living room. Daniel gaped. "Are you moving in?" Zach stood by the pile with a wide grin on his face. "Just a few tools of the trade, my friend. The first job is to get you up on your own two feet." And with that dubious statement, Zach rummaged around the pile for two crutches. "I worked with Anders, down in equipment today to fix-up a little modification that should work with your left arm." Zach motioned to Daniel's casted arm. "With the break in your wrist, you can't use regular crutches, because of the pressure." Zach explained that the left crutch had been changed to allow Daniel to slip his elbow into a cuff/brace that would allow him to use the crutch in a nearly normal manner. "I had to guess on your height, but I thought you are only a couple of inches shorter than I am, so I hope it works." Zach demonstrated the crutches and looked a little silly hobbling around the room, making Daniel smile. "Think you can get off that couch, or do you just want to watch me all night?" Zach lifted an eyebrow in question at Daniel and handed the crutches over. "At least I can make a fool of myself in my own home, instead of in front of the whole PT department." Daniel glared benignly at Zach as he hoisted himself off the couch and grabbed the right-hand crutch and tried in vain to get his left forearm in the other crutch. "Okay, for a guy with an engineering degree, I didn't really think this would be that hard. What brilliant genius came up with this design?" Daniel looked up at Zach, allowing both his frustration and humor show. "Ah well, it was a joint effort, really. And you give us a lot of credit, even with your sarcasm. Here, let me give you a hand." Zach took a couple of steps toward Daniel and knelt at his side. "I have no idea if it will work, but I wanted you to be able to use the strength of your upper arm to move forward, and then use the forearm to guide and lift the crutch as you walk. That's why these," Zach indicated two rounded pieces of brace that would essentially cradle the cast, "should be on both the top on bottom of your cast. Anders wanted you to have some sort of handle to steer with, but I told him that was going too far." Zach slipped Daniel's arm into position and stood up as proudly as a new father. "Have you ever used crutches before?" Daniel shrugged, "Once, when I had a badly sprained ankle. Will that help?" "Anything helps," Zach proclaimed with a 'never say die' attitude. "Hopefully it will be like riding a bicycle, but without the falling down part." For the next forty-five minutes, Daniel hobbled, stumbled, and nearly fell over until both he and Zach felt confident that Daniel was able to get around the ground floor of the house without Zach spotting him. They practiced sitting down and standing up as well as the few steps from the house to walk outside. The work was much more tiring than Daniel ever would have expected and he was thankful that Zach had been there with his positive words and stupid jokes each time Daniel almost lost his temper at his own ineptitude. Hard work and perseverance had taken Daniel through his life so far, and he was not used to feeling bungling and ineffective. When his spirits got down, Zach knew what to say to make him laugh, even at himself. After all their effort, Daniel was thoroughly worn out and ready for bed at a ridiculously early hour. "Zach, thanks so much for your help. Not only could I not have done it without you, I wouldn't have wanted to. If you don't mind, I think I'm pretty worn out and should get to bed." Daniel hoped that this would be a subtle hint that it was time for Zach to leave. "Hey, that's no problem. I brought my sleeping bag and my pillow, I'll just crash on the couch. Do you mind if I use the bathroom down the hall? Are there towels in that little hall closet?" Zach bouncily walked over his pile and began unearthing the items he'd mentioned as well as a beat-up looking dopp kit. With all his digging, Zach was completely oblivious to the thunderstruck look on Daniel's face. Maybe he was just old-fashioned, Daniel thought, but he was feeling a little bit snippy that Zach had just invited himself to stay in Daniel's home. Not that he didn't enjoy Zach's company or welcome the help, but this felt a little invasive. Zach was still talking, though the delving hadn't ended and he hadn't looked up at Daniel. "I want to be here, in case you get a little disoriented in the night, you know, that sort of thing." Zach stood now. "That's all right, isn't it? I kind of forgot to ask." Maybe Daniel's face gave away some of his emotion since Zach now had the good graces to look slightly sheepish. "Do you mind the couch? I don't have a guest room yet." Daniel indicated the very disreputable brown couch he'd nearly fallen asleep on earlier. "I wanted to have it finished by now, but I fell behind schedule this winter, and I haven't really had any visitors lately." Zach quickly reassured Daniel that he had slept on much worse and that the couch would be more than adequate. A cloud had passed over Daniel's brow as he had apologized about the lack of a guest room, and Zach guessed the reason for Daniel's slow progress on the house. Rather than have him feel badly, Zach would have slept on the floor. "Listen, you go to bed," Zach said, waving Daniel away. "I like to stay up late and you need to get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Daniel shuffled away to his bedroom and was simply too tired to care whether Zach stayed or not. And the man was probably right, Daniel thought ruefully. With his luck lately, he would fall down and be stuck like some sad beetle without help. After a short struggle trying to get undressed, Daniel gave up the idea of pajamas and decided that underpants and undershirt would be plenty that night. The small bathroom off his bedroom presented a whole other host of obstacles. He'd thought that peeing and brushing his teeth would be the worst, but flossing his teeth, he decided, was truly impossible. Tomorrow, he would have to ask Zach how that could be accomplished. The man seemed to have a solution for every challenge. After Daniel had swung himself into bed, and laid his crutches on the floor, he only had the energy to read half a page of his magazine before he fell asleep. At some point, deep in the middle of the night, Zach awoke. He wasn't sure if it was due to a noise coming from Daniel's room or Zach's intense discomfort trying to sleep on the brown couch. He had, he reflected, slept on worse. So it must be that he was getting old, or soft. Then there was the feeling that he had to go to the bathroom, too. God, he really was turning into an old man. There it was again, the noise from Daniel's room, and this time Zach thought it sounded like a muffled curse. After padding to the bathroom, Zach rapped quietly at Daniel's door, in case he had fallen back asleep -- something Zach doubted he would be able to do for a long time. "Yeah?" Daniel's voice sounded tetchy. Zach hoped he wasn't still annoyed with his staying there that night. It hadn't escaped his noticed that Daniel had been surprised Zach intended on staying. Nothing to do about, he thought. Of course, he would mention to Cynthia that she had 'forgotten' to tell Daniel of the hospital's reassignment of Zach. Maybe she figured that if Daniel was surprised, he wouldn't be able to refuse the assistance. Whatever it was, Zach hadn't particularly liked being the one caught out. With a shrug and a realization that this was the exact reason he was there, Zach pushed open the door. The sight that greeted Zach's eyes had him staring in bewilderment. Daniel, barely lit from the soft glow coming from his little bathroom, seemed to be trying to tie himself in some sort of knot. This explained the noise and the swearing, but not the reason. "You need some help with that, Daniel?" Zach said, trying not to laugh at the sight before him. He thought he could see Daniel glare at him in return. "I have a cramp in my calf and can't work it out, I have to pee and one freaking crutch is under the bed and I hate feeling this way." Daniel both hissed and raised his voice at the same time "Hmmm, it's a good thing that I'm here then. Let's start with the bathroom, because not being able to pee will make anyone cranky. Then I'll work on your leg, okay." Zach came to the bed and helped Daniel rise, and grabbed the crutch out from under the bed. When they reached the bathroom, he supported Daniel at the toilet enough to make the job easier. Tomorrow he would begin insisted on self-sufficiency, but in the middle of the night, everyone needs a break once in a while. An added bonus was that Daniel had to lean a little into Zach, for support, and Zach was able to feel that warm contact and closeness of another body at the loneliest time of night. Though he didn't want to examine that impulse too closely, Zach felt pretty sure that he wasn't being completely professional. Back in bed, Daniel placed the crutches along the side of the bed and climbed in with a big sigh of relief. "Thanks Zach, I should be fine now, I'll try to get back to sleep." "Does your calf still bother you, or did that go away?" "Well, it does, but I didn't want to trouble you with it. It's not really a big deal." Daniel was protesting, but Zach was already positioning himself at the foot of the bed, taking Daniel's left foot into his lap. "You know that I'm certified as a massage therapist too, don't you?" Zach looked at Daniels and saw the surprise there. He had left the bathroom door slightly more ajar than before, so he could see Daniel better. "It can help ease the tension in the muscles that aren't getting their normal workout while you recover. Besides, I don't think I'll be getting that much more sleep, to be honest with you." Daniel groan a little at Zach's admission, and tried not to pay attention to how good his hands felt as they worked on loosening the knot in his calf. "It's the couch-from-hell, isn't it?" Hearing Zach's snort of laughter, Daniel couldn't help apologizing for it. "It really is the worst piece of furniture in the world, but I bought it because I felt sorry for a neighbor, and now I don't know how to get rid of it." "What do you mean?" "Oh God. That damned thing. I had just moved in and had been trying to meet my neighbors and introduce myself. Since I can be a little shy sometimes, this was not my favorite job on the weekends, but I thought they all had a right to meet me. One time I went into a house after knocking and realized that the family was having an estate sale. I felt like I should buy something, to help the family. I didn't want any of the old lady's stuff, but I did need a couch and it looked fine, practically unused, so I paid for it and two grandsons carried across the street for me." "You are such a soft touch," Zach said with a low laugh and a shake of his head. "Why do you hang onto it?" "Well, how can I get rid of it? If I put it on the curb, the neighbors might think I'm rude to get rid of Irma's possessions. I feel kind of stuck with it." Daniel yawned hugely and didn't get his hand up in time to cover it. "I'm sorry Zach. I think that awesome massage must have worked, because I'm falling asleep on you. You should sleep in here though, since that couch will give you a backache. There's plenty of room, and it won't bother me." Daniel yawned again, trying harder to stifle it this time.